(CNN) - Hours before the first and possibly the only debate in New York State's gubernatorial battle, a new poll indicates that state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has an extremely large lead.

According to a New York Times survey released late Sunday, 59 percent of likely voters in New York say they support Cuomo, the Democrat's gubernatorial nominee, with 24 percent backing Republican nominee Carl Paladino and just over one in ten undecided.

More than six in ten questioned say they approve of the job Cuomo's doing as attorney general, and by a 41 to 17 percent margin, New Yorkers have a favorable opinion of Cuomo.FULL POST

(CNN) - California Republicans Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina took a pass when it came to appearing with Sarah Palin and Michael Steele during a get-out-the-vote rally last week.

Not so with Marco Rubio.

The Florida Senate candidate announced Monday he will appear with the former Alaska governor and RNC chairman at a "victory rally" in Orlando this Saturday, a week after Whitman, the GOP California gubernatorial candidate, and Fiorina, who is running for Senate in the Democratic-leaning state, cited scheduling conflicts in their decision not to stand alongside Palin and Steele.FULL POST

(CNN) - Four candidates will be on the stage in West Virginia Monday night for the first and possibly only debate in the battle for an open Senate seat in that Democrats have controlled for over half a century.

The debate, in Morgantown, West Virginia includes Gov. Joe Manchin, the Democrat's nominee, businessman John Raese, the Republican nominee, Jess Johnson of the Mountain Party and Jesse Becker of the Constitution Party. A crowded stage with four candidates would seem to help Manchin, a popular two-term governor.

"Manchin isn't the incumbent, but he's the de-facto incumbent - the 800 pound gorilla in the race. Anytime the anti-Manchin/anti-Obama/anti-Pelosi vote divides, it helps Manchin, says Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report.FULL POST

(CNN) - Early voting gets underway in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, North Dakota, Texas, and the District of Columbia Monday.

That brings to 27 states plus the District of Columbia where early or state-wide absentee voting is underway in the November 2 midterm elections.

Vermont kicked it off back on Sept. 20. Other states were early voting or state-wide absentee voting is under are Georgia, Maine, South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, California, Indiana, Montana, Arizona, Illinois, Idaho, Kansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Nevada.FULL POST

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said the Conway ad that repeats an unsubstantiated GQ story about Paul when he was a student at Baylor University comes "close to the line" in what should be deemed inappropriate in political campaigns.

"Candidates who are behind at the end reach, and sometimes they overreach," McCaskill said on MSNBC. "This ad is very dangerous because it reaches back to college. The ad came close to the line."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - With only 15 days remaining before Election Day 2010 and early voting already happening in several states, the midterm marathon is now a sprint as Democrats work frantically to establish a beachhead to protect their congressional majorities while Republicans hope voter anger over the economy propels them into power.

Democrats and Republicans agree on very little other than this: When the dust settles on the 2010 midterms, it's not "will Republicans pick up seats?" but "how many?" Will the GOP pick up the 39 seats needed for John Boehner to wrest the speaker's gavel out of Nancy Pelosi's hands?

(CNN) -– If you’re being chased by a crocodile, is it better to run in a zigzag?

President Barack Obama will debunk a myth like this crocodile stumper when he appears on the Discovery Channel’s show “MythBusters” on December 8. White House officials said the appearance is part of the president’s efforts to “show young people how cool science can be,” a goal he announced in 2009.

On Monday the president will host science fair winners from across the country at the White House, which Obama’s Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes said was modeled after similar events celebrating victorious sports teams.FULL POST

CNN: Obama pleads with Democrats in Ohio, warns against GOP gains
President Obama pleaded with Democratic voters to keep hope alive and warned about Republicans making congressional gains in an Ohio speech Sunday that comes just weeks before the midterm elections. "Everybody said, 'No you can't' and in 2008 you showed them, 'Yes we can,' " Obama told tens of thousands of supporters at Ohio State University in Columbus. "In two weeks, you have the chance to say once again, 'Yes we can.'"

CNN: Can Democrats and Republicans work together after the election?
Bipartisanship is in the eye of the beholder, it seems, as Democrats and Republicans ponder how cooperation between them can improve after the upcoming congressional elections. The voting on November 2 is expected to diminish Democratic majorities in both chambers and perhaps cost them control of the House. Whatever the final tally, widespread voter dissatisfaction with the hostile political climate in Washington is evident.